Niger
SALT
MINE
URANIUM MINING
CONCESSIONS
HISTORIC
CARAVAN
ROUTE
HISTORIC REGION OF
TUAREG INFLUENCE
Agadez
Arlit
Timbuktu
Gao
Kidal
Essouk
Niamey
Kano
Bilma
Iferouâne
Tamanrasset
Djanet
Ghat
Awbari
Sabha
Taodeni
Tazerzaït
S
A
H
E
L
S
A
H
A
R
A
Tassili oua-n-Ahaggar
Tassili-n-Ajjer
Ahnet
Aïr
Massif
Adrar
des
Ifôghas
Ahaggar
ALGERIA
MALI
NIGER
CHAD
NIGERIA
BURKINA FASO
LIBYA
AREA
ENLARGED AFRICA
EUROPE
e camel caravans that once linked Saharan trading hubs are rapidly disappear-
ing as trucks take over. Tuareg en route to Timbuktu with salt slabs from Taodeni
(le ) worry about the tradition's future. "Our sons have no interest," they say.
from the air that killed several men, including
one of their leaders. e men squint toward the
horizon, and periodically everyone goes silent
to listen for the sounds of blades beating the
air. " ey buy helicopters to ght us, but they
will not build schools or wells for us," the com-
mander says, as he leads the way to the edge of
the school grounds. e prisoner trails behind,
his head bowed, bootlaces skipping along the
ground. e commander stops at a place where
stones set in the so sand mark out three graves.
" ree old men are buried here," the com-
mander says. "When the army attacked," he
points to one of the graves, "this man, who was
blind, refused to ee." He motions to the other
graves. " ese two refused to leave him." He de-
scribes how the soldiers accused the old men of
helping set land mines. " at night they tortured
them behind the classrooms. We were hiding
in the mountains, just there," he says, gesturing
to a ridgeline above us. "We could hear the old
men screaming." He spoke quietly. " is one," he
points to the grave in the center, "is my father."
of the world's
largest desert requires traversing a vast primor-
dial landscape---a place de ned by salt pans that
take the better part of a day to cross, dune elds
that rise and fall like violent seas, and mammoth
outcroppings of glassy marble and obsidian
that breach the sand like extinct sea creatures.
Countless generations of Tuareg warriors ruled
this realm, demanding tribute from merchants
plying the caravan routes and raiding sedentary
Today the heart of the
Tuareg region is divided
among four nations. Rich
uranium deposits located
on their grazing lands re-
main a contentious issue
with the Niger government.
MARTIN GAMACHE, NGM STAFF
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